Wordspring Weekend!

This afternoon (Friday, April 28), I’m heading north to Chico, California, to teach at the Wordspring Writers’ Conference, sponsored by the English Department at Butte College. I’ll be teaching two workshops: Writing a Killer Mystery (the A-to-Z of writing a page-turning mystery) &  Putting the History in Your Mystery (or “Writing historical mysteries that don’t get lost in the details!”) If you’re in the northern California area, and not busy Saturday (April 29), click over and check out all the information about the Wordspring Conference – I’d love to see you there!

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The Cats of Fushimi Inari

Like many Japanese shrines and temples, Fushimi Inari Taisha, south of Kyoto, has its share of resident cats. Although not numerous, the cats appear to be permanent residents of the shrine, and though some, like this little fellow: seem to live on the mountain itself. That said, unlike most feral cats, the residents of Fushimi Inari seemed eager for human attention. The handsome tuxedo in the photo above followed me along the path, meowing insistently, until I stopped to pet him. A group of visitors gathered behind me, pointing at the cat, and as soon as I left him they moved in

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A Visit to Fushimi Kandakara Shrine

(To start this series on Fushimi Inari Shrine from the beginning, click here.) Just past the shrine at the end of the Senbon Torii (Path of 1,000 Torii), on the right side of the path that continues toward the summit of Mount Inari (Inariyama), a small, easy-to-overlook sign points visitors toward one of Inariyama’s hidden treasures: Fushimi Kandakara Shrine. After ascending a couple of small hills (go carefully when it rains!) and passing through a peaceful mountain forest: The entrance to the shrine: Dragons also flank the entrance to the shrine’s small worship hall:

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The Path of 1,000 Torii (Fushimi Inari, Part 3)

(Click here to start the series from the beginning.) Near the base of Mount Inari (Inariyama), past the stairs that lead from the Hondo (worship hall) to the path that climbs the sacred mountain, lies the famous “Path of a Thousand Torii” – a tunnel made of sacred gates that has become a familiar, iconic image of Japan: At the start of the path, enormous torii tower twenty and thirty feet high, dwarfing visitors. Inside the path, the gates are placed so close together that the light takes on an orange hue:

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